


Gradients

by MusicPrincess655



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Getting Together, Healing, M/M, Princess Mononoke AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-31 04:50:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10892058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicPrincess655/pseuds/MusicPrincess655
Summary: A Princess Mononoke au set after the events of the movie. Semi visits the wolf prince in the forest.





	Gradients

**Author's Note:**

> This was my piece for the HQ Ghibli zine! The zine is no longer being published (although there might be a free PDF later) but I worked really hard on this piece and [ ivytea ](http://ivytea.tumblr.com/) worked really hard on an absolutely gorgeous companion art piece that I will link when I can, and I really want to share this with everyone.

The forest was still around Eita, though he could hear the sounds of life echoing all the same. No creatures were visible, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.

He felt eyes on him, and smirked.

“I know you’re there,” he called. He didn’t have to wait long before a boy and two wolves came into sight.

“Why are you here  _ again? _ ” Shirabu asked. He looked annoyed.

“You’d get lonely if I never visited you,” Eita teased.

“No I wouldn’t,” Shirabu argued. “I have Kawanishi and Goshiki.”

He gestured to the wolf pups beside him. Kawanishi didn’t so much as acknowledge being called out, but Goshiki gave a friendly yip. Eita smiled. He could always count on Goshiki to be welcoming.

“You’re not going to leave any time soon, are you?” Shirabu asked, sounding resigned.

“I already walked all this way,” Eita agreed. “It would be a waste to just go back now.”

“Fine.” Shirabu tossed his head. “Come on then. We might as well sit.”

It was more than Eita would have gotten when he first started visiting Shirabu, but then again, they were kind of friends now. Shirabu certainly tolerated his presence a lot more than he had in the beginning, and that was probably the closest to friendship the other boy had ever come. He sat in the springy moss around the water, smelling the crisp green scent as some of it crushed under him. Shirabu sat next to him.

“Did you bring me anything?” Shirabu asked.

“I thought you hated humans,” Eita replied, because he still felt like teasing him. “Why would you want anything from that village?”

Shirabu didn’t look impressed.

“Fine, here,” Eita sighed, throwing a package to him. “I made you cookies.”

Shirabu tore into the package. He had a weakness for sweets that he couldn’t satisfy in the forest, no matter how well it could meet all of his other needs.

“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to at least go to the village,” Eita said. “The people there won’t try to hurt you, and it might be good for you. You might make a friend. You might even get a  _ girlfriend _ .”

“Go die.”

“Who would bring you cookies if I did that?”

Shirabu fell silent, but Eita could tell he wasn’t actually upset. If anything, he was trying to control his mouth to keep it from turning up at the corners. If he was actually mad, Kawanishi and Goshiki would have growled in warning long ago.

No matter how much Shirabu insisted that he hated humans and was happier out here alone with the wolves, Eita knew better. If Shirabu really hated humans or didn’t want him around, Eita was all too easy to avoid. He always found Shirabu quickly, though, as if the other boy was waiting for him without trying to seem like he was waiting for him.

Eita tilted his head back, letting the patch of sunlight that filtered through the leaves fall onto his face. He was coming to love the forest almost as much as he loved his new home at the ironworks.

***

“Just let me meet him,” Tendou insisted. Eita sighed, rolling his eyes. Tendou was his best friend, and Eita was always up for getting into trouble with him, but he would definitely scare Shirabu off. They’d had this argument before, with the same results. 

“He barely lets me near him, and you want me to introduce him to a stranger?” Eita asked. Tendou shrugged. 

“You’re trying to get him comfortable with the idea of humans, aren’t you?” Tendou reasoned. “He has to meet someone other than you sometime.”

“I know, but…” Eita trailed off. “I understand why he’s so stubborn. His family abandoned him, and then he had to watch humans kill his friends. He has every right to be angry.”

“But you shouldn’t let him stay angry forever,” Tendou argued. “The lady is trying really hard to make things right. She can’t fix things if he won’t even talk to her.”

“Semi-san?” a quiet female voice interrupted. Tendou and Eita turned to see Lady Kiyoko standing hesitantly behind them. “Can I ask you a question about the wolf prince?”

“What about him?” Eita asked warily. He’d seen the good Lady Kiyoko was trying to do in this town, but he couldn’t forget watching her harm Shirabu or kill the deer god. She was trying, but she hadn’t earned his forgiveness yet. 

“You visit him, don’t you?” She was much more hesitant than she’d been when he’d first arrived. 

“I do.”

“Will you tell him I’m sorry?” she asked. “For everything? And that he’s always welcome here, whenever he wants?”

Eita considered her. She’d been putting in a lot of effort to fix the problems with the original ironworks, starting with fixing the relationships between humans and gods. She really was trying to make it a partnership rather than having humans take everything for themselves. It hadn’t gone perfectly, but they were getting better. 

“I’ll tell him,” he promised. “I can’t promise he’ll accept, or that he’ll come here, but I’ll tell him.”

She nodded, grateful. 

“You should still let me meet him,” Tendou cut in. “At least bring up the idea and let him decide. I’ll be on my best behavior, promise.”

“Because I definitely think your best behavior is going to make a difference,” Eita muttered. “I’ll ask him. It’s his choice, though.”

***

“No.”

“That’s it? Just ‘no’? You’re not even going to consider it?”

“I already told you I hate humans,” Shirabu snapped. “I don’t want to go to the village, and I don’t want to meet your friend. They’re all humans.”

“And so am I!” Eita’s voice grew louder in frustration. Shirabu had every right to be angry, but it was unfair that he wouldn’t even think about it. 

Shirabu’s face softened. 

“You’re special,” he said. “You’re not like the rest of them.”

“Of course I’m like the rest of them,” Eita argued. “Humans aren’t all the same. Lady Kiyoko is really trying to make everything better, and Tendou is really nice, even if he looks a little scary. They’re not going to hurt you or make you do anything you don’t want to do. At least talk to them once.”

Shirabu stared into the water, considering. He was quiet for a long time. Finally, he sighed. 

“Will you be there the whole time?” he asked. Eita nodded. “I’ll meet them. Just once. And I’m not going into the ironworks. They can come outside to talk to me.”

“That can be arranged,” Eita promised. 

Lady Kiyoko was easy enough to persuade to meet Shirabu outside the walls, and Tendou was chomping at the bit to meet the wolf prince in person. 

Eita led Shirabu there, even though he knew Shirabu knew the way. He stayed close to the other boy as they walked out of the forest, Shirabu’s head held high.

Shirabu grabbed for his hand as they approached Lady Kiyoko and Tendou, and Eita let him, lacing their fingers together and squeezing. Shirabu took a deep breath and stepped forward. 

“Wolf prince,” Lady Kiyoko said, one good arm held out and open to show she held no weapon. “I want to offer my apologies for the pain I’ve caused you. You are always welcome here in our village, and I hope to earn your forgiveness someday.”

Eita nudged Shirabu to prompt him to respond. 

“Thank you,” he said stiffly. “I’ll remember that I’m welcome here.”

Tendou stepped forward, and Eita tensed. Tendou was his best friend, and Eita loved him, but he could be a little overwhelming, and Shirabu already looked like he wanted to bolt. He looked over Shirabu carefully, mouth turned up in its perpetual grin. 

“You really run with the wolves, don’t you,” he said, more statement than question. Shirabu nodded. “Nobody here will give you any trouble anymore. You could outrun them all even if they tried.”

Shirabu looked surprised, but pleased. Eita sighed in relief. Not only had Tendou not made it worse, he’d actually made it better. 

“Will you visit again?” Tendou asked. “Eita makes chocolate chip cookies like you wouldn’t believe, and they’re better straight out of the oven.”

Shirabu considered carefully. 

“I’ll come back,” he said slowly. Tendou nodded, and they all considered the meeting over. Eita walked Shirabu back to the forest. 

“I’m proud of you,” Eita told him. “You handled that well.”

“You were right.”

“About what?”

“Humans aren’t all the same,” Shirabu admitted. “They weren’t what I expected.”

“So you think you’ll come back?”

“Apparently you make cookies to die for, and they’re better straight out of the oven.”

Eita smirked, and he could see the smile Shirabu was trying to hide. The light was fading, and he should go back before it got too dark, but he didn’t want to let go of Shirabu’s hand. 

“Kenjirou,” Shirabu said quietly. 

“What?”

“That’s my name. Kenjirou,” he said. “Shirabu is what the wolves called me, but Kenjirou was the name I was born with.”

“You never mentioned that before.”

“I didn’t trust you enough before.”

“You mean you hadn’t forgiven me for being human yet.”

Shirabu - Kenjirou - shrugged. 

“Does that mean you’ve forgiven me now?”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” Kenjirou admitted. “You never did anything to hurt me, and...being human isn’t a crime. I...I’m sorry for...everything, I guess.”

“I understand why you were so angry,” Eita said. “There’s nothing for me to forgive, either.”

“Will you keep visiting me?” Kenjirou asked. “Even if I can’t come to the village yet?”

Eita considered for a moment, then leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. Kenjirou squeaked in surprise, glaring at him out of habit. 

“You’ll have to try harder than that to get rid of me,” Eita said. “Besides, I like it out here. It’s peaceful. Animals don’t rush around all day like humans do.”

Kenjirou looked away, but he still held on to Eita’s hand. 

“Thank you,” he said, almost too quietly to be heard. 

“Sorry, didn’t catch that,” Eita teased him. 

“Nothing.”

“It didn’t sound like nothing.”

“Go die.”

“But then who would bake you cookies?” Eita sing songed. It was already becoming an old argument, one he’d be happy to continue having. “You’d get lonely if I stopped visiting you.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Kenjirou insisted, mouth quirking up as he spoke his part. “I have Kawanishi and Goshiki.”

“Yeah, but you’d miss me anyway,” Eita said, leaning in close. Kenjirou had plenty of time to pull away if he wanted, but he didn’t, so Eita kept leaning in until he could press their lips together. Kenjirou still didn’t pull away, not until Eita did. 

Kenjirou would never live in the village, but that was okay. Eita would keep visiting him, and keep showing him that humans weren’t his enemies. He would continue helping Kenjirou and the people of the village learn to forgive each other and heal, and it was something he would be glad to do. 

He leaned in once again to kiss his wolf prince. 

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr: [ musicprincess655 ](http://musicprincess655.tumblr.com/)


End file.
